SMU freshman Taylor Good took the stage and strutted for the audience in a long purple sequined dress last Friday in the Hughes-Trigg auditorium. The gold and black balloons behind her framed the stage, highlighting her as the center of attention for the audience.
Good flashes a sweet smile to the audience before doing another spin for the audience allowing them to see a 360 view of her stunning dress.
“I mean it’s very important that representation, looking beautiful and being who you are and knowing that not only is your blackness beautiful but you are beautiful,” Good said.
R&B music sets the mood for the night’s event as Good takes her last steps before stepping off stage. She’s met with final cheers from the audience.
From dresses, to diamond belts, and the trending alternative fashion, the fashion show did not disappoint anyone who attended. For the past few years, the Association of Black Students has hosted the fashion show, now considered a tradition that takes place during Black History Month.
This year’s theme “Black is…” highlighted four categories, which were represented by different fashion styles from the models. The categories included trendy, alternative, excellence, and you! Guests were welcomed with mini cheesecakes and a photobooth that allowed them to take photos with various props.
The fashion show is the first event ABS put together to celebrate Black fashion and culture for Black History Month and will continue to have more events during the month.
“This was liberating to me because knowing that I am with this dress, it symbolizes me being God’s princess,” Good said.
SMU junior and CCPA major, Cambyll Francois, hosted the show for the first time this year. She has been a member of ABS since fall 2023. The fashion show brings out the SMU student body and allows them to see the beauty of Black excellence, Francois said.
“I loved hosting the event and seeing every one of our student body faces in the audience,” Francois said. “I would love to do it again if ABS would like me to.”
It has been important as SMU has done its job at being able to represent everyone’s culture on campus, audience member Lena Rembert said.
“It was great for representation on campus,” Rembert said. “And I think that it really just shows that SMU incorporates all people’s cultures and that this month is not just about Black history but also about showing that they actually care about us as students.”